Hello, I've been playing this game off an on for a few years, but recently downloaded it on my android device and have been beating it island by island. I recently hit the "Very Hard" islands on the Android version...maybe it's just been a long time, but I really don't remember these harder maps being so difficult.

I think "Very Hard" is an understatement. Some of these maps (maybe every 3rd or 4th map) seem to be impossible or require insane luck or even making moves that make absolutely no sense from a strategy standpoint. Heck, I only was able to beat one of them because I accidentally hit "end turn" at the beginning of my turn. The AI should have wrecked me because I had weak points everywhere, but instead I wasn't touched and thus, had that much more money to actually purchase a unit or tower. You can certainly make an argument that not making a move is a "strategy", but c'mon...

The other thing I feel like I'm seeing now is that the AI doesn't appear to follow the same rules when it comes to money. Maybe I don't understand the game as well as I thought I did, but often times I get to turn 3 or 4 and create a spearman to cut off a territory...but out of nowhere the territory I'm about to attack has enough cash to build a tower and enough units to end up cutting off my spearman. Couple that with the fact that on these "Very Hard" maps, any time I get any sort of strategic advantage, all of the enemy territories shift their focus and absolutely obliterate me in a single turn.

I'm at a point of frustration because I'm getting beaten by an AI that (in addition to having a massive territory advantage from the start) seems to not have to follow the same rules as the player, and my best "strategy" for some maps is "do something dumb" or "do nothing". Are there any good tips for beating some of these later maps? Perhaps some insight to better unit/resource management and info on whether or not the AI actually has to follow the same rules as the player?

The last upgrade, Sean took my "days to win" file and mapped the islands so that the easy wins are generally at the beginning and the harder levels at the end. If you get totally stuck on one, post the island name here and someone will offer advice how to play the first move or two of a winning position.

I still feel like the AI at this level doesn't follow resource rules. I also don't understand what triggers every single AI to suddenly coordinate an attack against me, which ends the game in an instant.

If you're telling me that these harder levels comes down to making the PERFECT move every time, then I don't think this game is for me.

There are no perfect moves, only moves that lead to winning and others that lead to losing. The best advice that can be given is to study the way the AI responds to your moves, then figure ways to get the AI to engage itself until you get big enough to take on the other players.

Slay is a game of strategy. Whether it is for you or not, only you can tell.

You're right...without "studying" I don't understand how or why the AI has these kinds of moves at their disposal, or what triggers them all to stop fighting each other and coordinate an attack that completely obliterates me on turn 14, when at turn 13 I appeared to be in a position to win.

Maybe this game was easier to understand on PC (I've seen screenshots with income info, enemy strength info, etc) but on android it's not very clear.

To this day, I do not understand how an AI that controls a territory of 4 spaces can pop out a spearman, then have that spearman survive turn after turn after turn, despite a -2 income.

So allow me to get specific with my questions.

-Does the AI abide by the same resource rules as the player?
-What triggers a single AI to attack the player?
-What triggers every AI to coordinate a massive attack on the player?

Yes, the AI has the same rules you do. It typically sets up small territories to accumulate money and larger territories to expand. Each territory controlled by a given color may operate under a different strategy.

The AI attacks vulnerable positions. If you leave an area unguarded or weakly guarded, the AI will interpret that as an opportunity. The AI is a coward, it very rarely attacks a territory with stronger men that it has. The exception is that the AI will ALWAYS attack when it has the opportunity to make an opponent go bankrupt. If you can make a knight and all your attackers have spearmen, then the attackers will avoid attacking that position until they can either make a knight of their own or see an opportunity to bankrupt you.

You can avoid the dogpile attack by strategic use of castles. Knowing when and where to build castles turns otherwise vulnerable positions into strongly guarded territories. The dogpile is usually a result of expanding too fast and not having enough reserve money. When an AI controlled player gets to the point it can be bankrupted, all other players will "pile on" the vulnerable player. Sometimes you will be the vulnerable player.

Learn to make swiss cheese. The AI always takes contiguous cells. You can take cells in such a way that there are dots of foreign territory scattered in areas you control. These singles allow you to place a peon on them to both gain territory and provide some protection from attack. This strategy also leverages the number of men you have so they do the most possible damage to the enemy. The ability to effectively use this strategy is critical to winning many islands.

These are great tips! Very interesting notes on how the AI behaves...that explains a lot, and I'm going to have to try some different approaches based on that.

I've been using the "swiss cheese" approach for a while now and I agree, it works great...when I can get to that point.

On the "Very Hard" maps, I'm struggling to get a solid territory...or even a swiss cheese. I'm finding my first few moves difficult based on the initial strength of the AI and the limits of my opening moves with the peasant.

I've always been focused on linking up territories as early as I can (without leaving weaknesses) but find that after the first move or two, I'm unable to hold the position due to the AI upgrading to spearmen (In some cases they have spearmen on turn 1 and have already cut through my territory.)

Any tips for the opening moves on some of these harder maps? Expand more slowly? Put up towers early?